“Wake Up Dead Man” started its life during the recording sessions for Achtung Baby, as a germ of a lyrical idea that Bono sang during the chorus of what would later become “Blow Your House Down”. It seems that the band liked the idea enough to further work on it during the sessions for Zooropa, […]
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U2101 – Holy Joe
There are two versions of “Holy Joe”, a B-side from 1997’s Discotheque single, and although neither one purports to be the “main” or “original” mix, I tend to think of the “Garage mix” as being the original and the “Guilty mix” as being a remix. Listening to these two versions of the song bear this […]
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U2101 – Please
Last week, we discussed the lead off single from U2’s Pop album, so I thought that today would be the perfect opportunity to talk about another of my favorite singles from the same album, the fourth single, “Please”.
Read MoreU2101 – Discotheque
“Discotheque” is kind of a weird song in U2’s catalog. On one hand, a lot of fans have negative memories of the song as the first single from Pop, U2’s much-maligned techno-music influenced ninth album. On the other hand it was U2’s last top ten hit in the United States, so I have a feeling […]
Read MoreU2 101 – Staring at the Sun
Of course, like all U2 fans, my mind is on the ongoing saga concerning the long-awaited 13th album. Is it delayed, or isn’t it? What if it never comes out – does that mean the band will never tour again? I don’t need to rehash the whole painful debacle for you, but it did get […]
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U2’s new ‘POP’ culture
(CNN) – “Listen, I’ll talk to Jesus. I’ll talk to the lady at the check-out there at Kmart. I’ll talk to anyone.” So says Bono, the never-shy lead singer of rock group U2. And if there’s one thing that stays constant with the band, it’s that Bono will indeed talk. But there’s not much else that […]
Read MoreU2 Invigorated by Nineties sounds
Few releases can cause as much speculation, anticipation and activity as a new U2 album, but the scale of interest preceding the release of Pop, the band’s 11th album, is unprecedented in recent years. There have been leaks, broken embargoes and wild rumours surrounding the project since it began 14 months ago, and these have […]
Read MoreU2 Explains Its New Sound
Pop, U2’s long-awaited next album–and the band’s first in almost four years–guarantees a new sound. Lead singer and songwriter Bono, his trademark long hair now closely shorn, reveals to the L.A. Times that the album is actually a melding of two distinct musical directions. “We liked the tendency in England toward pop songwriting in the [traditional] way […]
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